Larry Clark
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Donald "Larry" Clark (born January 19, 1943) is an American
film director
, photographer, writer
and film producer
who is best known for the movie Kids
and his photography book Tulsa
. His most common subject is youth who casually engage in illegal drug use
, underage sex and violence
, and who are part of a specific subculture, such as surfing
, punk rock
or skateboarding
.
. He learned photography at an early age. His mother was an itinerant baby photographer, and Clark himself was enlisted in the family business from the age of 13.
In his mid-teens, Clark began injecting amphetamine
s with his friends in 1959. Always armed with a camera, from 1963 to 1971 Clark produced pictures of his drug-shooting coterie that have been described by critics as "exposing the reality of American suburban life at the fringe and for shattering long-held mythical conventions that drugs and violence were an experience solely indicative of the urban landscape."
Clark attended the Layton School of Art
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he studied under Walter Sheffer
and Gerhard Bakker. In 1964 he moved to New York City
to freelance but was drafted
within two months to serve in the Vietnam War
. His experiences there led him to publish the book Tulsa
in 1971. It was a landmark work: a photo documentary illustrating his young friends' drug use in black and white. His follow-up was Teenage Lust (1983), an "autobiography" of his teen past through the images of others. It included his family photos, more teenage drug use, graphic pictures of teenage sexual activity, and young male hustlers in Times Square
, New York City
. Clark constructed a photographic essay titled "The Perfect Childhood" that examined the effect of media in youth culture. His photographs are part of public collections at several prestigious art museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art
, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
.
In 1993, Clark directed Chris Isaak
's music video "Solitary Man". This experience developed into an interest in directing. After publishing other photographic collections, Clark met Harmony Korine
in New York and asked Korine to write the screenplay
for his first feature film
, Kids
which was released to controversy and moderate critical acclaim in 1995. Clark is scheduled to direct the film adaption of Richelle Mead's novel Vampire Academy
.
In 2002, Clark spent several hours in a police cell after punching and trying to strangle Hamish McAlpine, the head of Metro Tartan, the UK
distributor for Ken Park. According to McAlpine, who was left with a broken nose, the incident arose from an argument about Israel
and the Middle East
, and he claims that he did not provoke Clark. The latter dismissed this version of events as "such bullshit, such a fucking lie," stating that McAlpine had described the September 11, 2001 attacks
as "the best thing to have ever happened to America" and opined that child victims of terrorist attacks in Israel
"fucking deserve to die." Clark later commented: "When someone gets up in my face with bullshit like this, I’m not gonna roll over and lick my nuts."
Clark is represented by Simon Lee Gallery in London
and the Luhring Augustine Gallery
in New York City
. He has one son and one daughter.
s often deal with seemingly lurid material but are told in a straightforward manner. Directors such as Gus Van Sant
and Martin Scorsese
have stated that they were influenced by Clark's early photography, according to Peter Biskind
's book Down and Dirty Pictures.
In both his photographic and cinematic works, Clark pursues a set of related themes: the destructiveness of dysfunctional family
relationships, masculinity and the roots of violence, religious intolerance and bigotry, the links between mass imagery and social behaviors, and the construction of identity and sexuality in adolescence.
Film critics
who do not find social or artistic value in Clark's work have labeled his films obscene
, exploitative
and even borderline child pornography
because of their frequent and explicit depictions of teenagers using drugs and having sex. In Kids
, Clark's most widely known film to date, boys portrayed as being as young as 12 are shown to be casually drinking alcohol and using other drugs. The film received an NC-17
rating, and was later released without a rating. Ken Park
is a more sexually and violently graphic film than Kids, including a scene of autoerotic asphyxiation and ejaculation
by an apparently underage male (although the actors are all 18 and older). , it has not been widely released nor distributed in the United States.
Clark has won the top prizes at both the Cognac Festival du Film Policier (for Another Day in Paradise) and the Stockholm Film Festival (for Bully). He has also competed for the Golden Palm (Kids) and Golden Lion
(Bully).
, Ken Park
was banned for its graphic sexual content, although many consider the ban to have been ineffectual. A protest screening held in response was immediately shut down by the police. Australian film critic Margaret Pomeranz
, co-host of At the Movies, was almost arrested for screening the film at a hall.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, photographer, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
who is best known for the movie Kids
Kids (film)
Kids is a 1995 drama film written by Harmony Korine and directed by Larry Clark.The film features Chloë Sevigny, Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Harold Hunter, and Rosario Dawson, all of them in their debut performances...
and his photography book Tulsa
Tulsa (book)
Tulsa is a collection of black-and-white photographs by Larry Clark of the life of young people in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Its publication in 1971 "caused a sensation within the photographic community", leading to a new interest in autobiographical work....
. His most common subject is youth who casually engage in illegal drug use
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
, underage sex and violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
, and who are part of a specific subculture, such as surfing
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
, punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
or skateboarding
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
.
Life and career
Clark was born in Tulsa, OklahomaTulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. He learned photography at an early age. His mother was an itinerant baby photographer, and Clark himself was enlisted in the family business from the age of 13.
In his mid-teens, Clark began injecting amphetamine
Amphetamine
Amphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...
s with his friends in 1959. Always armed with a camera, from 1963 to 1971 Clark produced pictures of his drug-shooting coterie that have been described by critics as "exposing the reality of American suburban life at the fringe and for shattering long-held mythical conventions that drugs and violence were an experience solely indicative of the urban landscape."
Clark attended the Layton School of Art
Layton School of Art
The Layton School of Art was a third level institute based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was established by Charlotte Partridge and Miriam Frink in 1920 and closed as a result of financial insolvency in 1974. At its closure, the school was regarded as one of the top five art schools in the United...
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he studied under Walter Sheffer
Walter Sheffer
Walter S. Sheffer was an American photographer and teacher, born in Youngsville, Pennsylvania. He moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1945 to work at the studio of John Platz, Milwaukee's main society photographer. When Platz retired, Sheffer inherited his clientele and was able to establish his own...
and Gerhard Bakker. In 1964 he moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to freelance but was drafted
Conscription in the United States
Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
within two months to serve in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. His experiences there led him to publish the book Tulsa
Tulsa (book)
Tulsa is a collection of black-and-white photographs by Larry Clark of the life of young people in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Its publication in 1971 "caused a sensation within the photographic community", leading to a new interest in autobiographical work....
in 1971. It was a landmark work: a photo documentary illustrating his young friends' drug use in black and white. His follow-up was Teenage Lust (1983), an "autobiography" of his teen past through the images of others. It included his family photos, more teenage drug use, graphic pictures of teenage sexual activity, and young male hustlers in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Clark constructed a photographic essay titled "The Perfect Childhood" that examined the effect of media in youth culture. His photographs are part of public collections at several prestigious art museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
.
In 1993, Clark directed Chris Isaak
Chris Isaak
Christopher Joseph "Chris" Isaak is an American rock musician and occasional actor.-Early life:Isaak was born in Stockton, California, the son of Dorothy , a potato chip factory worker, and Joe Isaak, a forklift driver. Isaak's mother is Italian American, originating from Genoa...
's music video "Solitary Man". This experience developed into an interest in directing. After publishing other photographic collections, Clark met Harmony Korine
Harmony Korine
The story is told from the perspective of a young man suffering from untreated schizophrenia, played by Ewen Bremner, as he tries to understand his deteriorating world. Julien's abusive father is played by Werner Herzog...
in New York and asked Korine to write the screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
for his first feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
, Kids
Kids (film)
Kids is a 1995 drama film written by Harmony Korine and directed by Larry Clark.The film features Chloë Sevigny, Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Harold Hunter, and Rosario Dawson, all of them in their debut performances...
which was released to controversy and moderate critical acclaim in 1995. Clark is scheduled to direct the film adaption of Richelle Mead's novel Vampire Academy
Vampire academy
*Vampire Academy , a paranormal romance novel from Richelle Mead.*Vampire Academy , the novel series of Richelle Mead's novel.*Vampire Academy , a Romance Fantasy drama film based on the novel....
.
In 2002, Clark spent several hours in a police cell after punching and trying to strangle Hamish McAlpine, the head of Metro Tartan, the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
distributor for Ken Park. According to McAlpine, who was left with a broken nose, the incident arose from an argument about Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, and he claims that he did not provoke Clark. The latter dismissed this version of events as "such bullshit, such a fucking lie," stating that McAlpine had described the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
as "the best thing to have ever happened to America" and opined that child victims of terrorist attacks in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
"fucking deserve to die." Clark later commented: "When someone gets up in my face with bullshit like this, I’m not gonna roll over and lick my nuts."
Clark is represented by Simon Lee Gallery in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and the Luhring Augustine Gallery
Luhring Augustine Gallery
The Luhring Augustine Gallery is an art gallery in Chelsea in New York City.The gallery was founded in 1985 by co-owners Lawrence R. Luhring and Roland J. Augustine...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He has one son and one daughter.
Films
Clark's filmFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s often deal with seemingly lurid material but are told in a straightforward manner. Directors such as Gus Van Sant
Gus Van Sant
Gus Green Van Sant, Jr. is an American director, screenwriter, painter, photographer, musician, and author. He is a two time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director for his 1997 film Good Will Hunting and his 2008 film Milk, both of which were also nominated for Best Picture, and won the...
and Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
have stated that they were influenced by Clark's early photography, according to Peter Biskind
Peter Biskind
Peter Biskind is a journalist, former executive editor of Premiere magazine, and the author of numerous books depicting life in Hollywood, including Seeing Is Believing, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Down and Dirty Pictures, and Gods and Monsters...
's book Down and Dirty Pictures.
In both his photographic and cinematic works, Clark pursues a set of related themes: the destructiveness of dysfunctional family
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
relationships, masculinity and the roots of violence, religious intolerance and bigotry, the links between mass imagery and social behaviors, and the construction of identity and sexuality in adolescence.
Film critics
Film criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and...
who do not find social or artistic value in Clark's work have labeled his films obscene
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
, exploitative
Exploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
and even borderline child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
because of their frequent and explicit depictions of teenagers using drugs and having sex. In Kids
Kids (film)
Kids is a 1995 drama film written by Harmony Korine and directed by Larry Clark.The film features Chloë Sevigny, Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Harold Hunter, and Rosario Dawson, all of them in their debut performances...
, Clark's most widely known film to date, boys portrayed as being as young as 12 are shown to be casually drinking alcohol and using other drugs. The film received an NC-17
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
rating, and was later released without a rating. Ken Park
Ken Park
Ken Park is a 2002 drama film. The screenplay was written by Harmony Korine, who based it on Larry Clark's journals and stories. The film was directed by Larry Clark and Ed Lachman....
is a more sexually and violently graphic film than Kids, including a scene of autoerotic asphyxiation and ejaculation
Ejaculation
Ejaculation is the ejecting of semen from the male reproductory tract, and is usually accompanied by orgasm. It is usually the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential component of natural conception. In rare cases ejaculation occurs because of prostatic disease...
by an apparently underage male (although the actors are all 18 and older). , it has not been widely released nor distributed in the United States.
Clark has won the top prizes at both the Cognac Festival du Film Policier (for Another Day in Paradise) and the Stockholm Film Festival (for Bully). He has also competed for the Golden Palm (Kids) and Golden Lion
Golden Lion
Il Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...
(Bully).
Ken Park
In AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Ken Park
Ken Park
Ken Park is a 2002 drama film. The screenplay was written by Harmony Korine, who based it on Larry Clark's journals and stories. The film was directed by Larry Clark and Ed Lachman....
was banned for its graphic sexual content, although many consider the ban to have been ineffectual. A protest screening held in response was immediately shut down by the police. Australian film critic Margaret Pomeranz
Margaret Pomeranz
Margaret Pomeranz AM is an Australian film critic and television personality.-Early life:Pomeranz was born in 1944 in Waverley, a suburb of Sydney, and was educated at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney in Croydon, the then newly opened Macquarie University, and the Playwright's Studio at...
, co-host of At the Movies, was almost arrested for screening the film at a hall.
Filmography
- KidsKids (film)Kids is a 1995 drama film written by Harmony Korine and directed by Larry Clark.The film features Chloë Sevigny, Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Harold Hunter, and Rosario Dawson, all of them in their debut performances...
(1995) - Another Day in ParadiseAnother Day in Paradise (film)Another Day in Paradise is a 1998 drama film directed by Larry Clark, and released by Trimark Pictures. It is based on the novel Another Day in Paradise written by Eddie Little.-Plot:...
(1998) - BullyBully (film)Bully is a 2001 independent American drama film, based on actual events, starring Brad Renfro, Bijou Phillips, Rachel Miner, Michael Pitt, Leo Fitzpatrick and Nick Stahl. The story concerns the plot to murder a mutual friend of several young adults in Southern Florida, in revenge for his continual...
(2001) - Teenage CavemanTeenage Caveman (2002 film)Teenage Caveman is a 2002 film directed by controversial filmmaker Larry Clark. It was made as part of a series of low-budget made-for-television movies loosely inspired by b-movies that Samuel Z...
(2002) - Ken ParkKen ParkKen Park is a 2002 drama film. The screenplay was written by Harmony Korine, who based it on Larry Clark's journals and stories. The film was directed by Larry Clark and Ed Lachman....
(2002) - Wassup RockersWassup Rockers-Plot:Wassup Rockers is about a group of Guatemalan American and Salvadoran American teenagers in South Central Los Angeles who, instead of conforming to the hip hop culture of their gang-infested neighborhood, wear tight pants, listen to punk rock,and ride skateboards. Avoiding the violence of...
(2006) - DestrictedDestrictedDestricted is an ongoing project of films that explore the line where art and pornography intersect. The UK and US film releases had overlapping but different film lineups...
(2006, with various other artists)
External links
- Official site
- Luhring Augustine Gallery.
- Larry Clark Interview
- Larry Clark's previous exhibition at the International Center of PhotographyInternational Center of PhotographyThe International Center of Photography is a photography museum, school, and research center in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
- Simon Lee Gallery London.
- The Cheerful Transgressive in New York Magazine
- Larry Clark Biography, Pictures and Movies www.larryclark.us
- Salon.com People|Larry Clark
- Pavement Magazine-Larry Clark
- Watch: Larry Clark at the 2006 Slamdance Film Festival on independentfilm.com
- SWINDLE Magazine interview with Larry Clark
- Larry Clark Bibliography
- Pictures, press articles, photobooks of Larry Clark (in french)